83 Miles
by C'est Ma Vie
Summary: In the excitement of a new life and new prospects, two girls realize what they can't leave behind. crap at summaries, but all you need to know is Faberry, post-finale. Faberry; everything else TBD. Rated T for possible language, but subject to change.


Prologue

Summary: Rachel and Quinn's dreams are both coming true, but they can't move forward unless they're side by side. Faberry. All other pairings TBD.

Rating: T (subject to change - right now just for possible swearing)

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Glee, and if you think I do, you're delusional. :)

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Part I

_July 21__st__, 2012_

_Theater District, NYC, New York_

_Sometimes_, the brunette thought to herself with an appropriately dramatic pout, _it was hard being a star_.

Of course, she was Rachel Barbra Berry, and she would get through it simply because she wouldn't allow any other outcome. But she was entitled to at least a bit of complaining, right? _Right_, said the confident voice in her head, before another less flattering one could chime in.

Sure, 39 West 18th Street, or the address that housed her future, was only four blocks away from the small apartment she'd managed to rent. And yes, the view from the 24th floor _was_ nice. Add in the fact that a wonderful little vegan restaurant, the Orchid Café, was just up the street, and one might think her life here in New York was close to perfect.

Unfortunately, it wasn't. There was something missing, so blatantly obvious it tore the hole in her chest a little wider each time she dwelled on it, which was often.

The something?

Quinn Fabray.

The Metro North pass that was pinned front-and-center to the corkboard next to Rachel's mirror, however, was a beacon of hope. Assuming Quinn got settled in quickly, they could see each other again before the school year began. And Rachel could finally talk about all her insecurities, all the fears she'd been holding inside since the moment she read the word "accepted", with the one person who understood her the most.

Of course, there was the unknown variable in her equation: Finn Hudson. She couldn't really handle that whole debacle at the moment, considering the way he'd left things. He said he loved her, and she was almost sure she still loved him, but if she were being honest with herself, he had cut her deeply. And if she'd learned anything on her journey to stardom thus far, it was that breakups fueled emotional profundity in the musical and dramatic arts. She would hold onto her pain just as long as it gave her an edge, and then, she promised herself, she would not brood over Finn Hudson any longer. Bigger and brighter things were coming her way.

* * *

Part II

_July 21__st__, 2012_

_New Haven, CT_

If someone had told her a year ago that she would get into Yale, they'd be saying it through a haze of cigarette smoke and fuchsia hair, and she'd probably snort or something. Something that would hopefully make them think as little of her as she did.

That Quinn Fabray of a little less than a year ago was a stark contrast to the one staring at her in the mirror – the one whose features were outlined with gold, not gray, at the prospect of a new year and a new life.

And yet, she reminded herself with a small smile, it wouldn't be entirely new.

She was doing her best to eliminate any traces of sadness that might follow her here (basically just the men in her life that had caused her enough grief to last a lifetime), while at the same time surrounding herself with caring, wonderful friends who understood all the little facets of her personality and her history.

Of course, where better to begin than with Rachel Berry?

Not that there were any ulterior motives to giving Rachel, a _good friend_, the one and only free pass to her life – a pass, not to mention, that cost her nearly $400.

Not that her heart had swelled when she'd heard the news, eagerly forwarded through the New Directions grapevine, that the so-called "Finchel" was pretty much dead on arrival.

Not that she was debating cleaning _everything _frantically, right now, just in case Rachel was already settled in and decided to drop by this week.

Not that Quinn was in love, or anything.

_Shut up, _said the girl in the mirror.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this one's so short, but the fic won't be, trust me. Read, review, criticize constructively, throw tomatoes, etc.


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